Some SoftBank executives are balking at taking on large personal loans to buy into the Japanese group’s portfolio of technology companies, an investment scheme described internally as a test of loyalty to founder Masayoshi Son.
The scheme encourages participants to take a huge personal bet on SoftBank’s $97bn Vision Fund — the vehicle which has come under intense scrutiny after the collapse in value of WeWork, the shared office provider that is one of its bigger investments.
SoftBank offers the loans on a sliding scale depending on salary and length of tenure. Some executives have been encouraged to borrow more than 10 times their base salary, according to people familiar with the situation.